1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to transparent displays. Specifically, and not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to a transparent display using a polarizing beam splitter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Glare is a frequent problem which can occur during many activities, such as during driving, flying or welding, while encountering an intense point source of light (e.g., the sun, a welding arc, or a light head-beam). U.S. Pat. No. 7,651,220 addresses this problem by using a dynamic darkening glass, such as Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or “smart glass,” with a camera monitoring the glare position and mapping it to a user's line of sight. The medium proposed in this patent has some limitations. The LCD glass loses more than half the light. The smart glass typically has a default state of opaque. The smart glass also is difficult to implement in a dot matrix grid display mode due to its higher voltage level. Furthermore, transparent displays, such as head-up display also have limitations due to non-availability of the fully clear medium that can also display information. For a head-up display to work which provides a clear view in front of the vehicle or aircraft by the driver/pilot, current technologies use reflective coatings and faint display through reflection from glass. These displays do not work well in bright sunlight. They also cannot be used for glare blocking.
It would be advantageous to have a medium that is fully transparent with minimal light loss that can also display information such as dot matrix type dots for information display and utilizing glare blocking techniques. This display would be useable for many applications such as head-up display and LCD or Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) projectors, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide such a system and apparatus.